Determination of a service description most closely matching a specified service name

ABSTRACT

A method and system for determining a service description most closely matching a service name provided by a user. It is determined that the service name provided by the user is not an exact match to a service name in a service registry that comprises service names and associated service descriptions. A ranked service name is generated and includes at least one alternative service name and a respective rank of each alternative service name. The respective rank indicates how closely the alternative service name associated with the respective rank resembles the service name provided by the user. It is ascertained that a service description associated with a service name in the service registry that either matches the highest ranked alternative service name in the service name list or matches the next highest ranked alternative service name in the service name list. The ascertained service description is communicated to the user.

This application is a continuation application claiming priority to Ser.No. 13/866,089, filed Apr. 19, 2013, which is a continuation of Ser. No.13/039,368, filed Mar. 3, 2011, U.S. Pat. No. 8,478,753, issued Jul. 2,2013.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This invention is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/174,944(Attorney Docket No. END920080041US1) entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORPERFORMING ADVANCED SEARCH IN SERVICE REGISTRY SYSTEM”, filed on Jul.17, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,996,394, issued Aug. 9, 2011, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/175,552 (Attorney Docket No. END920080119US1)entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVING NON-EXACT MATCHING SEARCH INSERVICE REGISTRY SYSTEM WITH CUSTOM DICTIONARY”, filed on Jul. 18, 2008,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,966,320, issued Jun. 21, 2011, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/945, 151 (Attorney Docket No. END920100060US1)entitled “SEARCH CAPABILITY ENHANCEMENT IN SERVICE ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE(SOA) SERVICE REGISTRY SYSTEM”, filed on Nov. 12, 2010, and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/945,337 (Attorney Docket No. END920100061US1)entitled “SERVICE ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE (SOA) SERVICE REGISTRY SYSTEMWITH ENHANCED SEARCH CAPABILITY”, filed on Nov. 12, 2010, now U.S. Pat.No. 8,352,491, issued Jan. 8, 2013.

BACKGROUND

Aspects of present invention disclose a system and associated method forautomatically performing advanced searches for a service description ina service-oriented architecture (SOA) service registry system.Conventional SOA service registry systems require users to provide anexact service name to search for a specific service descriptionpublished in a registry of the SOA registry system. Also, becauseconventional SOA service registry systems have tightly coupledprocessing components, it is difficult to improve functionality and/orperformance of conventional SOA service registry systems in a scalablefashion.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method foradvanced searching of a service registry for a service description thatis most closely matches a service name provided by a user comprises:receiving the service name, by a processor of a computer on which aService Oriented Architecture (SOA) service registry system runs,wherein the SOA service registry system comprises the service registry,a name parser, a dictionary, and a name composer, and wherein theservice registry comprises at least one service description searchableby a respectively associated service name; determining that the servicename does not have the service description that is an exact match to thereceived service name in the service registry; generating a rankedalternative service name list by use of the name parser, the dictionary,and the name composer, wherein the ranked alternative service name listcomprising at least one alternative service name and a respective rankof each alternative service name of said at least one alternativeservice name, wherein the respective rank indicates how closely thealternative service name associated with the respective rank resemblesthe service name provided by the user; ascertaining that the servicedescription matches the highest ranked alternative service name in thealternative service name list by searching the service registry withsaid at least one alternative service name in a descending order of therespective ranks of said at least one alternative service name; andcommunicating the service description matching the highest rankedalternative service name to the user.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a computer programproduct comprises a computer readable memory unit that embodies acomputer readable program code. The computer readable program codecontains instructions that, when run by a processor of a computersystem, implement advanced searching of a service registry for a servicedescription that is most closely matches a service name provided by auser.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a computer systemcomprises a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a computerreadable storage device coupled to the processor, said storage devicecontaining program code configured to be executed by the processor viathe memory to implement advanced searching of a service registry for aservice description that is most closely matches a service name providedby a user.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a process forsupporting computer infrastructure, said process comprising providing atleast one support service for at least one of creating, integrating,hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable code in acomputing system, wherein the code in combination with the computingsystem is capable of performing advanced searching of a service registryfor a service description that is most closely matches a service nameprovided by a user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for advanced searching of a web serviceregistry for a service description that is most closely associated witha service name provided by a user, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting a method for searching of a web serviceregistry for a service description that is most closely associated witha service name provided by a user, as performed by the SOA serviceregistry system, in accordance with the embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a method for generating a rankedalternative service name list, performed in step 300 of FIG. 2 by theSOA service registry system, in accordance with the embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting a method for searching the serviceregistry in order of ranks in the alternative service name listresulting in locating a service description comprising the alternativeservice name that is most closely associated with the service name inputby the user, performed in step 400 of FIG. 2 by the SOA service registrysystem, in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an example listing of a service oriented architecture (SOA)service description written in the Web Services Description Language(WSDL), in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D illustrates an example sequence of performingthe method for searching of a web service registry for a servicedescription that is most closely associated with a service name providedby a user, as performed by the SOA service registry system, inaccordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer system used for advanced searching of aweb service registry system for a closely matching service descriptionfor a service name input by a user of an integrated developmentenvironment (IDE), in accordance with the embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 for searching of a web service registryfor a service description 15 that is most closely associated with aservice name 14 provided by a user 11, in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention.

The system 10 comprises the user 11 and an integrated developmentenvironment (IDE) 12 in which the user 11 is developing aservice-oriented architecture (SOA) business application and/or asoftware project comprising the SOA business application. The SOAbusiness application utilizes at least one SOA service registry entry{service name, service description}, in which each service name uniquelyidentifies a respective service description. Each service descriptioncomprises information necessary to provide a SOA service identified by arespective service name within each SOA service registry entry. In thisspecification, terms “SOA service,” “web service,” and “service” areused interchangeably.

The IDE 12 comprises a user interface 13 and a service-orientedarchitecture (SOA) service registry system 20. Examples of the userinterface 13 may be, inter alia, application programming interface(API), a graphical user interface to receive a web service name tosearch an associated web service description, etc., and combinationsthereof.

The SOA service registry system 20 comprises said at least one SOAservice registry entry {service name, service description} andcomponents facilitating a search of the service description 15 by use ofa service name 14 that is associated with the service description 15 ina particular service registry entry. The SOA service registry system 20is configured to look up the service description 15 with the servicename 14 provided by the user 11.

The user 11 provides the service name 14 as an input to the SOA serviceregistry system 20 through the user interface 13 to search the servicedescription 15 corresponding to the service name 14. The user 11receives the service description 15 comprising a service name value thatmatches the service name 14 if the service description 15 is found inthe SOA service registry system 20. The user 11 receives a null whereinno service description comprising a service name value that matches theservice name 14 is found in the SOA service registry system 20.

The service description 15 comprises development time information, acommunication protocol and a message format. An example of thedevelopment time information may be, inter alia, operations exposed by agiven service, etc. Examples of the communication protocol may be, interalia, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Internet Inter-OrbProtocol (HOP), Java Remote Method Protocol (JRMP), Java Message Service(JMS) protocol, etc. An example of the message format may be, interalia, the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), etc. The servicedescription 15 may further comprise runtime information such as the IPaddress and port number for a given service implementation. Web ServiceDescription Language (WSDL) is usually employed to describe a SOAservice. See FIG. 5, infra, for an example of the service descriptionfor a SOA service registry entry written in Web Services DescriptionLanguage (WSDL) format.

The SOA service registry system 20 comprises a service registry 21, aname parser 22, a dictionary 23, and a name composer 24. The SOA serviceregistry system 20 publishes service descriptions and searches publishedservice descriptions with a respective service name. The SOA serviceregistry system 20 of the present invention locates the servicedescription 15 that is associated with a service name that is eitheridentical to the service name 14 or an alternative service name that ismost similar to the service name 14 wherein the service registry 21 doesnot have an exact match for the service name 14.

The service registry 21 receives the service name 14 from the userinterface 13 and returns the service description 15 to the userinterface 13 if the service description 15 matching the service name 14exists in the service registry 21. The service registry 21 also performssearches for alternative service names generated by the name composer 24and produces multiple service descriptions found as matching thealternative service names existing in the service registry 21.

The service registry 21 stores previously registered at least oneservice description that is searchable by a respective service name. Theservice registry 21 utilizes the service name 14 as a key to searchentries of the service registry 21 for the service description 15associated with the service name 14. The service registry 21 may beimplemented by used of a conventional SOA service registry system,enabling the advanced search functionality described in thisspecification for such conventional SOA service registry system.

The name parser 22 generates a constituent word list from the servicename 14, which lists at least one word constitutes the service name 14.Each word is distinguished according to a shortest meaningful wordlisted in conventional dictionaries. For example, when the service nameis “globalWeatherService”, the name parser 22 generates the constituentword list {global, weather, service}, as shown in FIG. 4, infra. Thename parser 22 returns the constituent word list to the searchcontroller 25.

The dictionary 23 receives the constituent word list from the searchcontroller 25. The dictionary 23 generates a respective synonym list foreach word in the constituent word list generated by the name parser 22.The dictionary 23 returns the synonym list for each constituent word tothe search controller 25.

The name composer 24 receives all synonym lists from the searchcontroller 25. The name composer 24 generates a candidate service namelist from the received synonym lists generated by the dictionary 23 suchthat the candidate service name list comprises at least one candidateservice name that is not identical to the service name 14 but has ameaning similar to the service name 14.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting a method for searching of a web serviceregistry for a service description that is most closely associated witha service name provided by a user, as performed by the SOA serviceregistry system, in accordance with the embodiments of the presentinvention.

In step 100, the SOA service registry system receives a request tosearch a service description in the service registry with the servicename provided by the user. Then the SOA service registry system proceedswith step 200.

In step 200, the SOA service registry system determines whether or notthe service description comprising the service name in the request ofstep 100 supra exists in the service registry. If the SOA serviceregistry system determines that the service registry does not have theservice description comprising the service name in the request, then theSOA service registry system proceeds with step 300 for further searchwith alternative service names because there is no service descriptionexactly matching the received service name. If the SOA service registrysystem determines that the service registry has the service descriptioncomprising the service name in the request, then the SOA serviceregistry system proceeds with step 500 because the service descriptionis found as an exact match of the received service name and no furthersearch is necessary.

In step 300, the SOA service registry system generates an alternativeservice name list based on the received service name to find a non-exactmatching service description that is most closely associated with theservice name. See descriptions of FIG. 3 infra for steps performed togenerate the alternative service name list. Then the SOA serviceregistry system proceeds with step 400.

In step 400, the SOA service registry system searches, in a predefinedorder, the service registry for alternative service names generated inthe alternative service name list from step 300. In one embodiment ofthe present invention, the alternative service names in the alternativeservice name list are respectively associated with ranks indicating arespective degree of association with the service name that had beenoriginally requested by the user. See descriptions of FIG. 4 infra forsteps performed in searching the service registry with the alternativeservice names. Then the SOA service registry system terminatesprocessing the search request.

In step 500, the SOA service registry system returns the servicedescription found in the service registry from step 200 supra as theservice description associated with the received service name is foundin the service registry. Then the SOA service registry system terminatesprocessing the search request.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a method for generating a rankedalternative service name list, performed in step 300 of FIG. 2 supra bythe SOA service registry system, in accordance with the embodiments ofthe present invention.

In step 310, the SOA service registry system parses the service name andgenerates a constituent word list as a result of running the nameparser. As presented in the related patent applications noted above, thename parser receives the service name and parses the received servicename. The name parser produces a constituent word list comprising alldictionary words appearing in the service name. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, upon receiving the service name “getCarPrice”, thename parser produces a constituent word list {“get”, “car”, “price”}. Inthis specification and related patent applications, the terms“constituent word list” and “component word list” are usedinterchangeably. Then the SOA service registry system proceeds with step320.

In step 320, the SOA service registry system assigns a respective weightfor each constituent word in the constituent word list. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, the name parser returns a weightedconstituent word list in step 310 and the SOA service registry systemproceeds with step 330 without performing step 320. Then the SOA serviceregistry system proceeds with step 330.

In step 330, the SOA service registry system generates a respectivesynonym list of each in the constituent word list by running thedictionary, as presented in the related patent applications. Then theSOA service registry system proceeds with step 340.

In step 340, the SOA service registry system assigns a respective weightfor each synonym in the synonym list. In another embodiment of thepresent invention, the dictionary returns a weighted synonym list instep 330 and the SOA service registry system proceeds with step 350without performing step 340. Then the SOA service registry systemproceeds with step 350.

In step 350, the SOA service registry system devises an alternativeservice name list by combining entries of the weighted constituent wordlist and the weighted synonym list by running the name composer aspresented in the related patent applications. In this specification andrelated patent applications, the terms “alternative service name” and“candidate service name” are used interchangeably. Then the SOA serviceregistry system proceeds with step 360.

In step 360, the SOA service registry system determines a respectiverank of each alternative service name by adding weights of componentwords of said each alternative service name generated in step 350. Inanother embodiment of the present invention, the name composer returns aranked alternative service name list by adding weights of componentwords of said each alternative service name as the name composergenerates each alternative service name of the alternative service namelist. Then the SOA service registry system completes step 300 of FIG. 2supra for generating the ranked alternative service name list andproceeds with step 400 of FIG. 2 supra.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting a method for searching the serviceregistry in order of ranks in the alternative service name listresulting in locating a service description comprising the alternativeservice name that is most closely associated with the service name inputby the user, performed in step 400 of FIG. 2 supra by the SOA serviceregistry system, in accordance with the embodiments of the presentinvention.

The SOA service registry system performs a loop comprising steps 410through 440 for each alternative service name in the ranked alternativeservice name list, from a first alternative service name having a toprank among all alternative service names. The SOA service registrysystem returns a first-found service description as the servicedescription that is most closely associated with the service namereceived from the user and terminated processing the search request. Ifthe SOA service registry system does not locate a service descriptionfor a last alternative service name having a lowest rank in thealternative service name list, the SOA service registry system returnsnull to the user as there is no service description that is associatedwith the service name input by the user.

In step 410, the SOA service registry system selects a currentalternative service name that has a highest rank among the alternativeservice names that had not yet been processed by the loop comprisingsteps 410 through 440. Then the SOA service registry system proceedswith step 420.

In step 420, the SOA service registry system determines if the servicedescription matching the selected current alternative service name isfound in the service registry. If the SOA service registry systemdetermines that the service description matching the selected currentalternative service name is found in the service registry, then the SOAservice registry system proceeds with step 430. If the SOA serviceregistry system determines that the service description matching theselected current alternative service name is not found in the serviceregistry, then the SOA service registry system loops back to step 410for a second alternative service name having a next highest rank withinthe alternative service name list.

In step 430, the SOA service registry system returns the located servicedescription matching the current alternative service name to the user.Then the SOA service registry system terminated processing the searchrequest for the service name input by the user.

In step 440, the SOA service registry system returns null (o) as aresponse to the search request by use of the service name because thereis no service description having a similar service name with the servicename input by the user. Then the SOA service registry system terminatedprocessing the search request for the service name input by the user.

FIG. 5 is an example listing of a service oriented architecture (SOA)service description written in the Web Services Description Language(WSDL), in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

In lines L101 through L105, various namespaces are declared. In linesL106 through L125, various data types are declared. In lines L126through L131, message types are declared, which consist of an inputmessage type and an output message type. In lines 132 through L137,various operations included in the web service are declared.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D illustrates an example sequence of performingthe method for searching of a web service registry for a servicedescription that is most closely associated with a service name providedby a user, as performed by the SOA service registry system, inaccordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

The SOA service registry system receives an input service name of“GetCarPrice” from a user of the IDE.

After performing step 310, the SOA service registry system has aconstituent word list consisting of “Get”, “Car”, and “Price”. For eachconstituent word in the constituent word list, the SOA service registrysystem looks up synonyms by use of the dictionary. FIG. 6A depicts aresult of the respective synonym list for all constituent words in theconstituent word list wherein the input service name is “GetCarPrice”.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the SOA service registrysystem assigns a very greater weight for constituent words from theinput service name than a synonym replacing a respective constituentword. FIG. 6B illustrates a set of weights assigned for the originalconstituent words and respective synonyms. A first constituent word“Get” has a weight of one hundred and three (103), while a first synonymof the first constituent word “Obtain” has a weight of zero (0).Proportion of weights of original constituent word and respectivesynonyms is similarly devised in cases of a second constituent word“Car”, a third constituent word “Price” and their respective synonyms,as shown in FIG. 6B. A respective weight of each synonym is previouslydefined within the SOA service registry system, or interactivelyassigned by the user to represent a degree of associated between theconstituent word and the synonym of the constituent word.

FIG. 6C illustrates a ranked alternative service name list generatedafter performing step 300 of FIG. 2 supra.

FIG. 6D illustrates a ranked alternative service name list havingalternative service names appearing in order of respective ranks thatenables a search of the service registry with the alternative servicenames without scanning the ranked alternative service name list to finda next highest ranked alternative service name as in step 410 of FIG. 4supra. Wherein the SOA service registry system utilizes the orderedalternative service name list of FIG. 6D, the SOA service registrysystem selects a next entry in the ordered alternative service name listsince the ranking comparison is previously performed.

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer system used for advanced searching of aweb service registry system for a closely matching service descriptionfor a service name input by a user of an integrated developmentenvironment (IDE), in accordance with the embodiments of the presentinvention.

The computer system 90 comprises a processor 91, an input device 92coupled to the processor 91, an output device 93 coupled to theprocessor 91, and memory devices 94 and 95 each coupled to the processor91. In this specification, the computer system 90 represents any type ofprogrammable data processing apparatus.

The input device 92 is utilized to receive input data 96 into thecomputer system 90. The input device 92 may be, inter alia, a keyboard,a mouse, a keypad, a touch screen, a scanner, a voice recognitiondevice, a sensor, a network interface card (NIC), a Voice/video overInternet Protocol (VOIP) adapter, a wireless adapter, a telephoneadapter, a dedicated circuit adapter, etc. The output device 93 isutilized to communicate results generated by the computer program code97 to a user of the computer system 90. The output device 93 may be,inter alia, a printer, a plotter, a computer screen, a magnetic tape, aremovable hard disk, a floppy disk, a NIC, a VOIP adapter, a wirelessadapter, a telephone adapter, a dedicated circuit adapter, an audioand/or visual signal generator, a light emitting diode (LED), etc.

Any of the components of the present invention can be deployed, managed,serviced, etc. by a service provider that offers to deploy or integratecomputing infrastructure with respect to a process for advanced searchof the web service registry for a closest non-exact matching servicedescription of the present invention. Thus, the present inventiondiscloses a process for supporting computer infrastructure, comprisingintegrating, hosting, maintaining and deploying computer-readable codeinto a computing system (e.g., computing system 90), wherein the code incombination with the computing system is capable of performing a methodfor advanced search of the web service registry for the servicedescription that is most closely associated with the service name.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a method that performs theprocess steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising and/or feebasis. That is, a service provider, such as a Solution Integrator, canoffer to create, maintain, support, etc., a process for advanced searchof the web service registry for a closest non-exact matching servicedescription of the present invention. In this case, the service providercan create, maintain, support, etc. a computer infrastructure thatperforms the process steps of the invention for one or more customers.In return, the service provider can receive payment from the customer(s)under a subscription and/or fee agreement, and/or the service providercan receive payment from the sale of advertising content to one or morethird parties.

While FIG. 7 shows the computer system 90 as a particular configurationof hardware and software, any configuration of hardware and software, aswould be known to a person of ordinary skill in the art, may be utilizedfor the purposes stated supra in conjunction with the particularcomputer system 90 of FIG. 7. For example, the memory devices 94 and 95may be portions of a single memory device rather than separate memorydevices.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. In this specification, theterm “memory device” 94, 95 represent a computer readable storagemedium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but notlimited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared,or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitablecombination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer readable storage medium would include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of thisdocument, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible mediumthat can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code 97 for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The computer program code 97 may execute entirelyon the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. The term “computer program instructions”is interchangeable with the term “computer program code” 97 in thisspecification. These computer program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable storage medium that can direct a computer, other programmabledata processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablestorage medium produce an article of manufacture including instructionswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for determining a service descriptionthat most closely matches a service name provided by a user, said methodcomprising: determining, by a processor of a computer system, that theservice name provided by the user is not an exact match to a servicename in a service registry that comprises service names and associatedservice descriptions; said processor generating a ranked service name,wherein the ranked service name comprises at least one alternativeservice name and a respective rank of each alternative service name, andwherein the respective rank indicates how closely the alternativeservice name associated with the respective rank resembles the servicename provided by the user; said processor ascertaining a servicedescription associated with a service name in the service registry thateither matches the highest ranked alternative service name in theservice name list or matches the next highest ranked alternative servicename in the service name list; and said processor communicating theascertained service description to the user.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said generating the ranked service name list is performed inresponse to said determining that the service name provided by the useris not an exact match to a service name in the service registry.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, said ascertaining comprising: searching the serviceregistry with the at least one alternative service name in a descendingorder of the respective ranks of the at least one alternative servicename.
 4. The method of claim 1, said ascertaining comprising: sortingthe ranked service name list by respective rank of each alternativeservice name; and searching the service registry for the servicedescription with the at least one alternative service name from a topentry of the ranked alternative service name such that the servicedescription is associated with the highest ranked alternative servicename.
 5. The method of claim 1, said ascertaining comprising: searchinga top rank by locating a greatest value among all ranks in the rankedservice name list; and looking up the service registry for the servicedescription with a first alternative service name associated with thetop rank from said searching such that the service description isassociated with the highest ranked alternative service name.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, said generating comprising: creating a constituentword list comprising at least one constituent word that is a respectivedictionary word appearing in the service name as a result of parsing theservice name into a set of dictionary words; associating a respectiveweight to each constituent word of the at least one constituent word;producing a respective synonym list for each constituent word as aresult of running a dictionary, the respective synonym list comprisingat least one synonym of each constituent word as located in thedictionary; associating a respective weight to each synonym in therespective synonym list for each constituent word; composing at leastone alternative service name by combining the at least one constituentword from the constituent word list and the at least one synonym fromthe respective synonym list pursuant to a sequence in the service nameby use of a name composer; calculating a respective rank for the atleast one alternative service name by adding the respective weights ofall words employed in each alternative service name from said composing;rendering the ranked service name list by associating the respectiverank with each alternative service name.
 7. The method of claim 7,wherein the respective weight for each constituent word is predefined ina first range of positive integers greater than one hundred (100), andwherein the respective weight for each synonym of each constituent wordis predefined in a second range of zero (0) and positive integers lessthan five (5) such that a first alternative service name comprising moreconstituent words ranks higher than a second alternative service namecomprising more synonyms in place of constituent words of the servicename input by the user.
 8. A computer program product comprising acomputer readable hardware storage device having a computer readableprogram code embodied therein, said computer readable program codecontaining instructions that, upon being executed by a processor of acomputer system, perform a method for determining a service descriptionthat most closely matches a service name provided by a user, said methodcomprising: said processor determining that the service name provided bythe user is not an exact match to a service name in a service registrythat comprises service names and associated service descriptions; saidprocessor generating a ranked service name, wherein the ranked servicename comprises at least one alternative service name and a respectiverank of each alternative service name, and wherein the respective rankindicates how closely the alternative service name associated with therespective rank resembles the service name provided by the user; saidprocessor ascertaining a service description associated with a servicename in the service registry that either matches the highest rankedalternative service name in the service name list or matches the nexthighest ranked alternative service name in the service name list; andsaid processor communicating the ascertained service description to theuser.
 9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein saidgenerating the ranked service name list is performed in response to saiddetermining that the service name provided by the user is not an exactmatch to a service name in the service registry.
 10. The computerprogram product of claim 8, said ascertaining comprising: searching theservice registry with the at least one alternative service name in adescending order of the respective ranks of the at least one alternativeservice name.
 11. The computer program product of claim 8, saidascertaining comprising: sorting the ranked service name list byrespective rank of each alternative service name; and searching theservice registry for the service description with the at least onealternative service name from a top entry of the ranked alternativeservice name such that the service description is associated with thehighest ranked alternative service name.
 12. The computer programproduct of claim 8, said ascertaining comprising: searching a top rankby locating a greatest value among all ranks in the ranked service namelist; and looking up the service registry for the service descriptionwith a first alternative service name associated with the top rank fromsaid searching such that the service description is associated with thehighest ranked alternative service name.
 13. The computer programproduct of claim 8, said generating comprising: creating a constituentword list comprising at least one constituent word that is a respectivedictionary word appearing in the service name as a result of parsing theservice name into a set of dictionary words; associating a respectiveweight to each constituent word of the at least one constituent word;producing a respective synonym list for each constituent word as aresult of running a dictionary, the respective synonym list comprisingat least one synonym of each constituent word as located in thedictionary; associating a respective weight to each synonym in therespective synonym list for each constituent word; composing at leastone alternative service name by combining the at least one constituentword from the constituent word list and the at least one synonym fromthe respective synonym list pursuant to a sequence in the service nameby use of a name composer; calculating a respective rank for the atleast one alternative service name by adding the respective weights ofall words employed in each alternative service name from said composing;rendering the ranked service name list by associating the respectiverank with each alternative service name.
 14. The computer programproduct of claim 13, wherein the respective weight for each constituentword is predefined in a first range of positive integers greater thanone hundred (100), and wherein the respective weight for each synonym ofeach constituent word is predefined in a second range of zero (0) andpositive integers less than five (5) such that a first alternativeservice name comprising more constituent words ranks higher than asecond alternative service name comprising more synonyms in place ofconstituent words of the service name input by the user.
 15. A computersystem comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and acomputer readable storage device coupled to the processor, said storagedevice containing program code configured to be executed by theprocessor via the memory to implement a method for determining a servicedescription that most closely matches a service name provided by a user,said method comprising: said processor determining that the service nameprovided by the user is not an exact match to a service name in aservice registry that comprises service names and associated servicedescriptions; said processor generating a ranked service name, whereinthe ranked service name comprises at least one alternative service nameand a respective rank of each alternative service name of the at leastone alternative service name, and wherein the respective rank indicateshow closely the alternative service name associated with the respectiverank resembles the service name provided by the user; said processorascertaining a service description associated with a service name in theservice registry that either matches the highest ranked alternativeservice name in the service name list or matches the next highest rankedalternative service name in the service name list; and said processorcommunicating the ascertained service description to the user.
 16. Thecomputer system of claim 15, wherein said generating the ranked servicename list is performed in response to said determining that the servicename provided by the user is not an exact match to a service name in theservice registry.
 17. The computer system of claim 15, said ascertainingcomprising: searching the service registry with the at least onealternative service name in a descending order of the respective ranksof the at least one alternative service name.
 18. The computer system ofclaim 15, said ascertaining comprising: sorting the ranked service namelist by respective rank of each alternative service name; and searchingthe service registry for the service description with the at least onealternative service name from a top entry of the ranked alternativeservice name such that the service description is associated with thehighest ranked alternative service name.
 19. The computer system ofclaim 15, said ascertaining comprising: searching a top rank by locatinga greatest value among all ranks in the ranked service name list; andlooking up the service registry for the service description with a firstalternative service name associated with the top rank from saidsearching such that the service description is associated with thehighest ranked alternative service name.
 20. The computer system ofclaim 15, said generating comprising: creating a constituent word listcomprising at least one constituent word that is a respective dictionaryword appearing in the service name as a result of parsing the servicename into a set of dictionary words; associating a respective weight toeach constituent word of the at least one constituent word; producing arespective synonym list for each constituent word as a result of runninga dictionary, the respective synonym list comprising at least onesynonym of each constituent word as located in the dictionary;associating a respective weight to each synonym in the respectivesynonym list for each constituent word; composing at least onealternative service name by combining the at least one constituent wordfrom the constituent word list and the at least one synonym from therespective synonym list pursuant to a sequence in the service name byuse of a name composer; calculating a respective rank for the at leastone alternative service name by adding the respective weights of allwords employed in each alternative service name from said composing;rendering the ranked service name list by associating the respectiverank with each alternative service name.